Anyone had their HR books/articles published?

[mkevent]

I did try to do a search and couldn't find any specifics, so I was hoping for some advice...
I've decided to follow a college dream and write a book (HR,of course!) and some freelance magazine articles. I've actually finished one article and have no idea how to get to the next step-getting published. I have a few magazines in mind where I believe my article would fit nicely-who do I contact and how? If selected for publication(which I realize is a BIG "if") how are you usually compensated? If one of my articles happens to be published, would I still be able to use it in my book or is the article then the sole property of the publisher? And which publications like really long-winded authors because I can never post anything here that's not a sea of letters!!
Thanks in advance for any advice--I'm hopeful and really nervous at the same time!!

[Melyni]

Send letters with a 'sample' short article to the editors of various horse publications.
Try to match the article to the interest of the publication.

Most of them will reject you, but someone might well bite.
And once you get published it starts the ball rolling.
Smaller regional specialist magazines will of ten take stuff they don't have to pay for and publish it.

Once they publish it that version is theirs but you can alter it slightly for another if need be.

If they pay you then it is definitely theirs, and you won;t be able to reuse it, depending on the agreement you have with them.

I'd suggest you start off getting stuff published in the non-paying mags and then begin to ask for repayment as you get better known.
Yours
MW

[FoxChaser]

Try PMing Reynard Ridge :)

[Trakehner]

I've had stuff published in Hunter and Sport Horse...they're great to deal with and are pretty "kind" editors...I was happy with subscriptions.

[cowgirljenn]

I have one book and articles in EQUUS, COTH, Stable Management, AQHA Journal, the Appaloosa Journal, several regional magazines and some others I'm probably forgetting. NHR has been Cat Fancy, Dog Fancy, Image, and a few others. Oh and I have a second book with a publisher - waiting on editing now.

I can tell right now doesn't seem to be a great time for getting into writing. Or anything else. *sigh* The economy is also hitting the magazines and they're cutting back. That may make it harder to get published - OR it could make it easier. Maybe some magazines would rather pay newer people because they're cheaper... I don't know.

As far as compensation - I've done them for everything from free to $600 for an article.

As to whether or not you can publish it elsewhere, that will depend on the contract with the publication. For the ones I've written for free or very little, often the magazine gets one-time rights to publish. For some of the better paying articles (say $300-$600), they buy rights to the article for a certain amount of time. You'll need to talk to the magazine.

Now as to getting published - a lot of the bigger magazines don't really want entire articles submitted. They prefer you query them with a cover letter, description of the article and an outline. Your best bet would be to identify a few publications and request their freelance submission guidelines. Many smaller, local publications will publish almost anything sent to them - as long as it is well-written and not too controversial. Sometimes you end up publishing some for free so you can get some experience. When you query a magazine, you'll need to send a copy of your resume/CV with previous works listed.

As for a book - I think the publishing industry has also been hit hard by the economy. Are you writing fiction? I think that's harder to get into as many publishers want you to have an agent. For non-fiction, it seems that they more often accept submissions. For either type of writing, check uot their other books. What kind of stuff do they publish? Ask for their submission guidelines and follow them to a T!

Check out WritersMarket.com - the membersihp is fairly cheap, and you can get submission requirements, the name of who to contact at publishers, etc.

Good luck. PM me if you have other questions.

[MunchkinsMom]

I am a free lance writer for a regional equine publication, I write a monthly breed specific news column, reporting on news sent to me via email. What is funny is that I don't live in the region any more, but I can still write the column. I get a flat rate for that work.

I have also written a few articles for them, one was a feature article, others are show results articles, or farm profile type articles. Those pay 6 cents per word.

I have had other submissions printed in big national magazines, they do not pay for those, but it still looks good on a writers portfolio.

Some folks consider self publishing their books, and some end up being picked up later by publishing houses.

You might want to look into the American Horse Publications group also:

http://www.americanhorsepubs.org/

[mkevent]

Thank you all so much!! I will PM those that have offered-I really appreciate the kindness and advice! My expectations are not for this to be a lucrative career (which currently is boarding-lol) but something to help offset the expenses of running a horse farm (and my lesson addiction!). I'm trying my best to find a lifestyle that can support itself which doesn't entail a lot of time outside the property-hence writing may fit the bill. I also took a commercial modeling course(bonding time with teenage daughter) with the same idea but that seems to entail a lot of time invested running around to possible jobs. With a horse farm, that just is not feasible, so I realize that "career plan" may be short lived-we will see. I should have done my homework on that a little better but I don't regret it because it did give my older daughter and I a common interest! Thanks again for all the great advice-I'll be in touch!

[mkevent]

PS-since everyone responding is "in the know"-a sample of my humorous writing is a thread here called "what a morning". I would love feedback!!! Thanks again!!

[equestrianism]

Amongst my many trades I write freelance for equestrian magazines. I think persistans is a good way to start. Ask around, make yourself noticable in a good way. Send samples, scan the magazines websites for open positions. My experience tells me that sometimes when you've been rejected they do get back to you at one point or another cause they're missing out on staff to cover some small boring event somewhere and this is where you as a freelance writes can make your move and get your chance.:)

[Susan P]

I've had a couple things I wrote published, can't even remember where or which, usually about Nokota horses but mostly my photos have been published. Newspapers prefer to use their own staff writers and photographers.

Now Mao has a book and quite a few articles published. Dressage Rider's Survival Guide is her book and I wouldn't even begin to guess how many articles she's written, most recently in Equine Wellness, currently available at Tractor Supply stores and it's the cover story. The Nokota is on the cover. She has a web site for her farm. http://crazyhorsefarm.com/

[cowgirljenn]

My experience tells me that sometimes when you've been rejected they do get back to you at one point or another cause they're missing out on staff to cover some small boring event somewhere and this is where you as a freelance writes can make your move and get your chance.:)

True. I've sent queries before that were rejected - but then the magazine asked me to write something they needed.

OP, I see that you are looking for something to supplement your income. The nice thing of writing is that it is flexible - you can do it from anywhere and around your schedule. You will invest a lot of time, though, doing non-paying stuff: researching magazines, sending queries, etc. It pays off when you make connections and sell an article, but you do have to put in a lot of groundwork. I normally set aside a day/week for looking into new publications and putting together queries.

[miraclewelsh]

Good thread!

I am currently working on my fifth book on horses, it's scheduled for publication in the fall. My best advice for a new writer is to be patient and persistent. :-) It takes a lot of organization to meet deadlines and stay on top of the details involved with writing for books and magazines, but it's a very rewarding pursuit and I wish you the very best with it!

Samantha

[Kim]

Hi! I have written five published books (two horse-related), with another scheduled for publication next year. I've also written many horse-related articles. Feel free to PM with any questions or advice.

Good luck!

[pines4equines]

I own Horse Hollow Press, we publish horse books. And unfortunately, the book industry has been hit hard with this economy. Childrens' books are continuing to do well but non-fiction books are not.

I was also informed by my distributor who is trying to figure out the current economy that the market in used books is hurting the non-fiction market, ie: back list books. No longer are consumers buying a book and putting it on a shelf, they are reselling it once they're done. This hurts back list so books stay in print less time. No one wants to inventory back list if consumers are buying used books. The author or publish do not profit from used book sales via Amazon or whoever.

The economy will turn around, it has to. The American consumer loves to buy things. But I think there will be a back log of titles that will be coming out. Alot of publishers are holding onto new titles and will print them once it turns around. No one wants to release a book and have it deemed a poor seller, only because the economy stinks.

My suggestion is if you want to write a book is to work on it now and really hone it because in a year or two, publishers will be looking. But try to think of a very unique angle. Obviously, there hundreds of training books out there...What makes your's different? You'll need a SUPER angle.

I don't know about magazine publishing but I wonder how long a magazine that is delivered to your mail box will actually continue. It does seem almost archaic?

Another suggestion is to do a web site. Create your work, copyright it, and then put it up on a web site or blog. Get enough people poking around at your writing and enjoying it, like fugly and mugwump blogs, and the publishers/magazines/web sites, such as EquiSearch, will come to you.

Good luck!

[monalisa]

I have written in the past, but few little horse-related, mostly non-fiction though. I got published by having a well-thought out plan. I wrote for about 9 months, not for money, but just to build my portfolio. I used my job at that time to open doors for me, and was a "subject matter expert" in my field at the time. I wrote whatever I could find to write, but rarely got paid but ended up writing articles for trade magazines, book chapters, Web sites, and even had a large article in an airline magazine and actually got paid good money for it. But this paid off as I ultimately used my portfolio to demonstrate my writing ability to publishers as I honed my book concept. I got my book published about 10 years ago. I made money but the time vs. money earned - well, I could have worked in fast food and made more money.

The other thing I would point out is that there is much competition out there right now. Many newspapers and magazines are either laying off or folding so there are some great writers out there without jobs, so you will be competing with them. That is not to say that getting something published is impossible but it will be difficult.

[gully's pilot]

Good luck! Everyone's advice here has been good. At one point I supplemented my income with regular work for HorsePlay and the Equine Journal, and I did pieces for COTH and others. (I mostly stick with children's books now.) One thing I would add to your other advice is that with magazines, payment is usually a month after publication--and when they accept your article, they may schedule it a year in advance, and will certainly schedule it a few months in advance. In other words, there's a significant lag time between when you write something and when you'll be paid for it; this can make budgeting more challenging.

[mkevent]

I just wanted to thank everyone again for all the excellent advice! I am both excited and nervous about my new venture, but it's something I've felt I at least needed to try and now is the time.(actually the timing is quite poor,given the economy,but that's another story!)
Having spent the last 20 years as a "square peg in a round hole"-(mostly in pharmaceutical sales) may have actually given me a good perspective-I'm used to rejection and I've learned to be persistant!
Many thanks for all the help-I'll keep you posted!!